Meanwhile, Todd, the reporter that ran into Emerald earlier, sneaks in to get a look at the person who crashed the conference, and isn't too surprised to see that it's Emerald. Emerald shoves his Frontier Pass in Scott's face and demands to be able to battle and take on the Battle Frontier, but Brandon hits him and tells him having a pass doesn't mean he can go around doing anything he wants. Emerald attacks Brandon with his mechanical hands that can extend from his body, but Greta sends her Umbreon to use Quick Attack on him.

Just as Scott starts yelling at Emerald again, Spenser turns everyone's attention to the television news report. As it turns out, the media thinks that Emerald's appearance in the opening ceremony was intentional, and that Emerald is indeed going to conquer the Battle Frontier. The Frontier Brains are not sure what to do: on one hand, Anabel points out, an outrage like the one Emerald caused should not go unpunished; on the other hand, Brandon and Spenser claim, if they stop him from participating now, the press won't be happy at all. Lucy then suggests an idea: since there are still seven days before the actual opening of the Battle Frontier, after which regular Trainers will be allowed to challenge the facilities, they'll give Emerald these 7 days to defeat all seven of them. To the press, they'll say that it is a demonstration before the opening. Scott agrees that that is a great idea, and rushes off to tell the press.

Tucker, still angry at Emerald for what he did to him, wants to be Emerald's first opponent, but Noland picks Emerald up by the collar and insists that he'll be the first one, saying that Emerald insulted all of them and that he cannot sense even a shred of knowledge in Emerald's head. With that, Noland throws Emerald out the high window and into the bushes.

Having witnessed everything from his hiding place, Todd rushes to see if Emerald is OK. Once he sees Emerald isn't hurt, he scolds him for behaving the way he did and tells him that defeating the Frontier Brains won't be easy. Emerald isn't worried, though, and just goes to sleep on the grass.

The next day at the Battle Factory, Todd is among the reporters gathering to watch the first challenger of the Battle Frontier. Noland shows up on a podium hanging above the battlefield and introduces himself to everyone. Emerald then steps inside, asks for a Single Battle at Level 50. Emerald is then asked to choose his rental Pokémon, while Noland explains to the reporters that challengers in the Battle Factory don't battle with their own Pokémon. After checking the possible Pokémon with his PokéNav, Emerald chooses his three Pokémon: Skarmory, Ludicolo and Rhyhorn.

The battle begins, and Noland continues to explain the rules to the press: Emerald first has to battle computer-generated virtual Trainers using the Battle Factory's rental Pokémon. Challengers fight seven battles in one set, and may only face Noland himself in the seventh battle of the sixth set. Of course, if they lose even one battle along the way, that's the end for them. Emerald's first virtual opponent has Dusclops, Nidoqueen and Illumise. Illumise uses Flatter to confuse Skarmory, and Emerald orders Rhyhorn to use Rock Slide.

When the first battle ends, Rhyhorn has defeated all three opponent Pokémon, and Todd calculates in disbelief that Emerald still has 40 battles to win in a row before even being able to face Noland. Emerald asks Noland if he is allowed to recover after each battle, and Noland confirms and congratulates Emerald on his good judgment during the battle. Todd agrees that Emerald is impressive, especially considering he was using Pokémon he was not familiar with. Noland explains to Todd that to defeat the Battle Factory, a Trainer must have deep knowledge of the variety of Pokémon. He also tells Emerald about another rule of the facility: after each battle, Emerald can choose to trade one of his Pokémon for one of the Pokémon he just battled against. Emerald trades Skarmory for Illumise. Todd realizes how tricky the rules of the Battle Factory are, just as Emerald's second match begins.